The contemporary world’s latest obsession is churning out portmanteaus of words. This is because not only is it linguistically pleasing to be able to contribute to the evolution of the English language, but it is also because in this digital era, everything is progressing at an unrivalled speed and language needs to keep up. Similar to how new words such as ‘steam-engine’ came into life during the industrial revolution, it is no surprise that coinages such as ‘MarTech’ are birthed into existence. Existing during the same epoch as fintech, proptech, femtech, edtech and other related tech neologisms is Martech, the technological integration of marketing practices. Martech has gained so much popularity that it has become a standard part of technical jargon and common parlance as well.
Martech and its background
Martech constitutes a wide range of digital tools and software utilised by marketing teams to achieve various objectives in the customer acquisition and engagement process. It facilitates the planning, execution, and evaluation of marketing campaigns, enhancing effectiveness when compared to traditional methods. Examples of martech solutions include content management systems, software as a service (SaaS) platforms, social media management tools, and analytics software. Essentially, martech empowers marketers to leverage digital resources to reach, engage, and convert customers.
A term that is a frequently occurring collocation of martech is ‘martech stack’. When a marketing team uses a grouping of marketing technologies, it is often referred to as a martech stack. This represents the collection of various marketing technologies that a marketing team uses to put their strategies into effect. Martech has become an essential component of digital marketing campaigns, and it can also be used to improve marketing efforts across diverse channels that are not only confined to digital platforms. As such then, a marketing technology stack is a set of tools and software that marketers rely on to streamline and optimise their marketing activities, regardless of the specific marketing channels they use.
However, once you are in the knowhow about martech, it is very common for most to assume that adtech is a term that can be used interchangeably with it. While it may appear that the two are one and the same, there are marked differences between the two. The distinction between martech and adtech can be likened to the difference between marketing and advertising. Martech is a technology used to facilitate the creation, communication, and delivery of products or services to customers. On the contrary, adtech’s primary focus is on influencing consumer behaviour by promoting those offerings.
For instance, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software falls under the martech category because it aids in managing customer relationships and improving the overall marketing strategy. On the other hand, social advertising platforms are considered adtech because their main task is to promote products or services and drive consumer engagement through advertising campaigns. In summary, martech supports the broader marketing process, while adtech specifically serves the promotional and advertising aspects of marketing.
The rise of no-code and low-code in martech
While there are thousands of applications under martech, this ecosystem has witnessed a pronounced shift over the last few years. One such significant shift in the tech landscape is the emergence of low-code and no-code (LCNC) solutions. The demands of today’s digital ecosystem makes it necessary for companies that have had to find their way through the intricate landscape of legacy technologies and methodologies to conjure quick and steady responses. A need of the hour as such has given way to fast and cost-effective applications such as LCNC development platforms. This shift is making app development more accessible to a wider audience, particularly marketers, enabling them to have greater control over their technological requirements and fostering a culture of rapid innovation within the field.
What are LCNC development platforms?
Low-code and no-code development platforms are visual software environments that enable both professional developers and individuals without coding expertise (often referred to as citizen developers) to create mobile or web applications. These platforms are closely associated with the development methods they represent.
These systems simplify application development by allowing professional developers to build applications more rapidly, eliminating the need to write code line by line. They also create opportunities for business analysts, office administrators, small-business owners, and others who aren’t traditional software developers to design and test applications. These individuals can construct applications with little to zero knowledge of conventional programming languages, machine code, or the underlying development processes, thanks to the platforms’ configurable components.
Users interact with a user-friendly graphical interface (GUI) through which they can connect components and integrate third-party application program interfaces (APIs). Application builders can rearrange and repeatedly test these modules until the application functions as it is expected to.
The proliferation of low-code/no-code platforms can be attributed to several reasons such as scarcity of skilled software developers, the growing need to accelerate development project timelines, allowing businesses to address problems and opportunities more swiftly. One of the major reasons however, is because LCNC applications serve as a third, more budget friendly option in comparison to building a new system for a company using their own developers or purchasing a system from an external vendor (which will cost them more and is time consuming). And because of this LCNC is making its mark.
For instance, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is considered a star within LCNC systems. RPA gives users the authority to create automated workflows using predefined rules for simple decision-making. These workflows can interact with multiple information systems, making it particularly useful for automating back-office administrative processes. Some RPA tools even offer advanced features for identifying automation opportunities or connecting with AI tools, giving rise to what some refer to as “intelligent” or “augmented” automation. While RPA is generally classified as low-code, there are “light” versions that fall into the no-code category. These lighter versions are closer to a “plug and play” approach but offer fewer customization and scalability options.
There are also other examples of LCNC tools, including low-code workflow and case management systems (modern versions of traditional business process management tools), virtual assistants, chatbot tools, and function-specific tools in the marketing field. These tools have user-friendly interfaces that simplify the process of creating new applications and digital capabilities, emphasising point-and-click and menu configuration over the need to hire and manage a team of developers.
Despite its many pros, it is never a wise option to consider LCNC development as an elixir. Because it is clearly not. That being said, almost every organisation today is looking to employ LCNC applications to make their lives easier. Especially because it has the ability to provide solutions to some of the pressing resource shortages in companies. And at the speed at which LCNC and martech is evolving, in the future, we can anticipate systems to become even more user-friendly and accessible for creating applications and automating common processes.
(Sandunlekha Ekanayake)